Group Of Three Chest Tombs To Thomas Eldridge, David Moulder And John Howse; In The South-West Of St Mary'S Churchyard

A group of three chest tombs located in the south-west of St Mary's churchyard in Poulton, dating from the 18th and early 19th centuries. All three are constructed from local oolitic Cotswold limestone ashlar and are arranged tightly in a square formation north of Priory Farm House.

The chest tomb to Thomas Eldridge dates to around 1777. It is built from oolitic Cotswold limestone and set on a cyma recta moulded plinth with moulded cornice and architrave. The monument features a high, elaborately-moulded capstone. The sides and ends have inset moulded central panels flanked by narrower matching panels. The inscriptions are weathered, though the name Thomas Eldridge and the date 1777 remain discernible.

The chest tomb to David Moulder dates to around 1742. Constructed from oolitic Cotswold limestone, it has a deeply-moulded flat capstone. The long sides are each divided into two moulded panels with wave-crest carving to the margins. One panel is inscribed; whilst weathered, the name David (son of Richard Moulder) and the date of death, 1742, are legible.

The chest tomb to John Howse dates to around 1797, with a later inscription added in 1839 to the south. It is constructed from oolitic Cotswold limestone and set on a moulded plinth with a cyma recta moulded cornice and a crenellated capstone. The sides have architraves with beaded moulding, and the central panels are flanked by moulded recesses containing fluted half-columns with Doric capitals. The north side is inscribed to John Howse (died 1797) and his wife Sarah. The south side carries an inscription in elaborate lettering to another John Howse (died 1839) and his wife Jane (died 1850).

The parish of Poulton was originally an outlying part of Wiltshire until 1844, when it transferred to Gloucestershire. St Mary's church was founded as a priory in 1350 by the Gilbertines (the Priors and Canons of Sempringham), following the endowment of a chantry by Sir Thomas Seymour in 1337 and the construction of a chapel in 1348. The priory was surrendered at the Dissolution on 16 January 1539, at which point it consisted only of the prior and two canons. The priory church of St Mary then continued as the parish church until it was replaced by a new church dedicated to St Michael, built further north in 1873. The priory churchyard, which contains a large collection of chest tombs and headstones dating from the later 17th century to around 1873, was left in situ, with a new burial ground created beside the new church. In the later 20th century, the majority of grave markers and headstones were removed to the edges of the churchyard, leaving only the larger tombs in their original positions.